Police department holds awards banquet

By HOMER MARQUEZ hmarquez@hearstnp.com

Published 3:42 am, Tuesday, January 13, 2015

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Though national headlines may have lost focus on the positives done by law enforcement in recent months, Plainview Police Chief Ken Coughlin and the department’s newly established employee recognition committee were determined to honor the good done by local officers and the effort they put in day-in and day-out at the first ever Police Awards Dinner Saturday.

“This department goes above and beyond the call of duty,” said Coughlin as he hosted the event.

The event, which was held at the Rotary Club, honored Plainview’s Police Department with awards for Officer of the Year while also honoring local citizens in their efforts to keep Plainview a safer community.

The event was created after Coughlin felt there was so much positive activity in the department and the community that was not being properly recognized, if at all.

The committee, made up of chairpersons Lt. Jamie Salinas, Sgt. Bill Bridgewater, Officer Julio Delagarza and dispatcher C.J. Jacobs, developed general orders and criteria for the annual program, which will honor outstanding acts performed by the members of the department and community.

Earning Officer of the Year honors was Brandon Hodges, while Rookie of the Year prestige went to Luis Montelongo.

Both officers were nominated by their peers for the awards.

Hodges has been a patrolman for the department for the past three years.

Coughlin said both recipients were recognized for their productivity and thoroughness with tickets and writing reports.

Coughlin said Hodges had written 287 tickets in 2014, while Montelongo wrote 207 citations.

The Certificate of Civic Achievement was awarded to detective Al Longoria for his involvement in civic affairs.

In June 2014, Longoria conducted self-defense training for the fire department and EMS who commonly come in contact with violent reactions of persons who have ingested synthetic marijuana.

Nora DeLeon was honored with a certificate of achievement for her work with the highly successful Crime Stoppers Color Fun Freedom Run.

Recognizing commendable actions by community members, the department honored Debbie Garcia who went out of her way to alert officers on duty of possible criminal activity, and Margarito Pedroza, who returned a bag filled with thousands of dollars in cash to its owner.

The two joined Kolten and Korbin McCulloch in receiving Community Service Certificates. The two McCullochs made local headlines recently for saving a man’s life by pulling him out of the way of a train.

Other honors went to Cpl. Brian Morris, Sgt. Cody Ward and Lt. Guerra who received Marksman Awards for distinguishing themselves as outstanding marksmen by maintaining a 95 percent or better average score with their service sidearm for two consecutive scheduled firearms qualifications.

Derrick McPherson received the Distinguished Service Award for an initiative to remodel an off-site storage building for the department.

Officer Jessie Ortiz was also recognized for the Distinguished Service Award for donating a bicycle and a room for the night to a young man traveling through Plainview. The man’s bicycle was damaged and he was walking to Plainview when he was approached by Ortiz. Ortiz purchased the commendations with his own money.

Rounding out the Distinguished Service Award was Officer Jeff Erpelding who, on his own dime, provided a citizen with a full tank of gas so she could pick up an elderly man with dementia who was found lost in Lamesa.

Ending the night was the Certificate of Police Excellence, which was awarded to Cpl. Brian Morris and Sgt. Chris Hall. The two officers investigated a call which saw the seizure of 999 packages of synthetic marijuana and $78,000 in cash.

Officer Josh VanBebber was also presented with the Certificate of Excellence for helping a couple who was having trouble with their son who was having an emotional crisis.